Amanda Lang quit the Lannon Police Department after a story from The Badger Project examined why she had been forced out of a previous job in law enforcement.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

A Milwaukee-area police officer resigned after an investigation from The Badger Project revealed she had been forced out of a previous law enforcement job where she was accused of dishonesty and skipping a lot of work.

Amanda Lang had risen to the position of lieutenant at the Lannon Police Department in Waukesha County, where she started working in 2021, just a couple months after being forced to resign from a sergeant position at the Glendale Police Department in Milwaukee County.

Patrick Yates, the Lannon Village President, announced the resignation on his Facebook page Wednesday.

“In order to stem the progression of any further rumors, I am making this post about the resignation of one of our Police Officers,” he wrote.

“The Village of Lannon has accepted the resignation of Lt. Amanda Lang of our Lannon Police Department,” he continued. “I will not speculate why she has made this decision but I will say that the entire board was saddened to hear the news. Lt. Lang has been an outstanding member of the Village of Lannon Police Department and she will be greatly missed. She was diligent, flexible, professional and I sincerely believe that she really cared about our community a great deal. Her work and commitment is why Chief Bell promoted Lt Lang and her shoes will be hard to fill. We wish her continued success with her future endeavors in the Private Sector and thank her for her admirable service.”

Lang resigned from Glendale after an internal investigation found she had more than 230 paid hours unaccounted for between 2019-2021, which included taking unverifiable comp days and leaving shifts early. At her wage of $40 an hour, those hours added up to $9,300, the investigation noted.

“Based on the discovery of leaving early, along with the substantial number of full shifts not accounted for, one can only wonder how many other times she has left significantly early without documentation,” then-Captain Rhett Fugman wrote in his investigation, which The Badger Project obtained in a records request.

The captain recommended Lang be fired, and she resigned in April of 2021.

She worked for Glendale in the Milwaukee suburbs for more than 13 years, rising to the level of sergeant, before her resignation.

“As a sergeant, additional responsibility and trust was provided to Sgt. Lang,” Fugman wrote. “Her actions and inactions displayed regarding leaving early and posting off time over the last two plus years have displayed a lack of integrity, honesty and trustworthiness.”

“These characteristics are the foundation of what we are as police officers,” he concluded.

The Badger Project’s investigation into how Lang’s previous job ended first was posted online on May 29.

The Badger Project is an independent, reader-supported news nonprofit in Wisconsin.